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Harvard University

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Interesting people, bad bureaucracy cuts benefits from 1/1/2015 - Non-union Staff Harvard University Employee Review

2.0
Dec 22, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people I work with are all intelligent and engaged in what they are doing. The benefits used to be a plus, but starting Jan 1, 2015 the benefits change to a con.

Cons

There are multiple bureaucracies across the university, hurting the ability to coordinate any work (research, administration, teaching). The IT support is barely competent; they have repeatedly been unable to handle matters the IT support at my previous employer (also a university) handled routinely. The pay for non-union staff is about 20% below peer institutions, which used to be largely off-set by better benefits, but that will not be true after Jan 1, 2015 when the cost of medical benefits go up so much that the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate voted unanimously to request the Provost to scrap it because of its effects on junior faculty and staff. The Provost applied minor band-aids and is going ahead.

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Pros

Great Union and benefits for non-profits/higher ed. Wonderful colleagues outside of leadership!

Cons

GSD Development and Alumni Relations (under current leadership) is an incredibly toxic work environment. I didn't realize the intensity of the toll it took on my until after leaving, and I am not one to leave a negative review, but as they are hiring for several positions currently, I wish to share words of caution with applicants. Cons: - Absolutely not a safe space for anyone who is Black, brown, trans, queer, working-class, or disabled - 100% top-down direction. No room for personal exploration, initiative, or creativity. - Minimal guidance from leadership - Frequent pivots, even in the late stages of projects - Petty, immature talking behind your back by leadership - No upward mobility unless the Associate Dean or Dean like you - Deeply disingenuous comments, reflections, and feedback from leadership - Complete lack of transparency on direction, goals, etc. - Small mistakes are made cornerstones of performance evaluations, while leadership routinely missteps. Leadership never takes accountability. - Top-down policy decisions, completely lacking detail, thought, and care outside of legal ramifications - Ever-changing in-office requirements

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